"When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty." (John Muir, Travels in Alaska)

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Sunday, July 4, 2010

Sydney: 24 Hours

We left Tuateawa for the last time on
Sunday afternoon, taking the ferry from Coromandel to Auckland. On
the ferry, Dave and I met a new friend, Alex (age 7), who was very
upset at leaving her mother to visit her father in the city. We
played cards, walked around the deck, and admired her school
portfolio, and she seemed much happier by the end of the ferry ride.

In Auckland, we had a quick Thai dinner
at Food Alley per Bexie's tip (thanks, Bex!). We took the bus to the
airport and found a nice bench to spend the night (the first of many
nights spent in interesting places).

Once in Sydney, we headed for Circular
Quay, home of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge, via the train. The
Opera House is much cooler in person than in pictures... it's an
amazing work of architecture! The Harbor Bridge was, uh, a bridge.
I don't understand why folks get so excited about it.

After a lunch with one of Dave's
friends from a 2005 semester abroad in Sydney, we wandered around in
the drizzle, wrapped up in our rain shells, backpacks tucked into
rain covers. At one point, I found myself eating ice cream in front
of a neuron-shaped modern sculpture while watching some parrots and
thought, "This is a little bizarre—but I would rather be no
where else right now!"

We noticed a crowd of people standing
at the waterfront and went to investigate. Someone said it was a
free ferry, so we decided to hop on, without really knowing where it
went (why not!). It went to Cockatoo Island, a former penal colony/
ship yard that has been turned into a home for contemporary art. We
wandered around, watching video of tap-dancing men in white suits
feeding meat to wild dogs, contemplating Balinese-style wood-carved
sculptures of suburbanites as Eastern-influenced gods, and realized
the day couldn't get weirder. Or more awesome.

The next morning, we met up with Dave's
cousin Jess, who happened to be in the city for a vacation. We got
breakfast, wandered around, and chatted for a while. She's a lot of
fun, and I'm happy I got to meet her. After saying our goodbyes, it
was time to take the train back to the airport... ready for more
adventures!

A few recommendations for Auckland and Sydney:

In Auckland, Food Alley is located on
Lower Albert Street, 2 blocks back from the harbor. The food
selection is amazing—every Asian nationality you can name—and
it's fresh, tasty, and cheap (which you won't often find in the CBD
of large cities).

If you're going to sleep in the
Auckland airport, arrive early and snag a padded bench in the
"Observation Lounge." Follow signs for "viewing
point." Bring earplugs and a bandana to block out disturbances.

In Sydney, the Opera House is really
cool. Yes, it's a toursit attraction, but it's also a beautiful
piece of architecture. Give yourself some time to really appreciate
it.

The Circular Quay area of Sydney is
home to $30 lunches and $80 dinners. Head down to Chinatown, east of
Darling Harbor, for the cheap eats and people-watching.

The fastest, most convenient, and least
confusing way to get between the Sydney International Airport and the
CBD is the train. Suck it up and pay the $15 each way. Unlike us,
make sure you know from which terminal your flight departs—some
seemingly "domestic" flights are actually a leg of an
international journey—or you'll have to pay another $5 for the
hassle and inconvenience of the inter-terminal shuttle.